Alex doesn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, in fact her build is rather lanky and ‘underwhelming’ as far as the average on the academy goes. For her whooping 187 centimeters of height she claims to only weigh 63 kilograms. She seems fit within her options and seems to have great stamina. Her skin is on the paler side of the scale, almost as if a human spent all of their time out of direct sunlight.
Her face seems as ordinary as the rest of her - not too angular, not too rounded. She has dark green eyes and a short mane of blond hair that she keeps cut to a mikado and flowing over one side of her face.
She sticks to her uniform most of the time as she hardly ever goes outside. Alex doesn’t use clothing, instead morphing her skin to look like it, most often going with a form-fitting jumpsuit and a jacket. She doesn’t really ‘change’ for combat other than donning her armor if the situation calls for it, at which point she shifts her surface to a circuit board look to form attachments and connections to the extra gear.
Despite her best attempts, more observant people can still tell there is something inhuman about her - the way her skin is just a bit too cold to touch. The precise and controlled way she carries herself. The fact that she doesn’t seem to ever get a tan. But her body language and camo protocols are slowly improving to blend in better.
History:Created by Tony Stark, ASTRA is meant to be the deterrent to all future threats to Earth. Combining the thoughts behind Ultron and the Sentinels, this unit is the first prototype of intended many. Designed to be able to counteract most known and possible future threats, ASTRA units are capable of emulating many powers present in other superhumans, aliens and technological contraptions, and while it matches none in its specific field, an ASTRA is capable of keeping up well enough and employ other powers to counter, with the whole system intended to counteract a threat by employing larger number of units, rather than a single superpowered robot.
To prevent the disasters that were the Sentinels and Ultron, ASTRA code is based heavily on that of Ultron-15, capable of feeling emotions. Furthermore, Alex did not achieve consciousness by accident and was brought online and educated by Mr. Stark to create a desirable personality.
A cover story was needed for her, to hide her true nature form villains and heroes alike, and thus ASTRA assumed the identity of Alexandra Blair Stark, a misbegotten daughter of her creator, one he only recently become aware of with the death of her mother who kept her existence hidden from him.
When the cataclysm struck, Mr. Stark hid the only existing ASTRA that was Alex in a remote, unconnected facility, intending to come back after the Avengers saved the day. Only they never did, and now the timed wake-up call is about to go off...
Personality:Alex is on the border between an extrovert and introvert. She doesn’t actively search for company, about if one finds her she doesn’t shy away. Being relatively ‘young’ and inexperienced with the world, she can sometimes be a bit childish, naive and gullible.
She seems a little cold and doesn’t like to talk about herself, not quite over the fact that her father figure is there no more. Alex constantly seems zoned out due to being able to multitask and pick up what humans can’t like radio waves or wi-fi internet, although she is always paying attention to what she should.
Her only fear is that of going offline for whatever the reason, as even though her memories would remain intact, her personality would reset and she might never be the same person.
Construction and powers:ASTRA’s body is shaped around a strong endoskeleton fashioned out of secondary adamantium. Mobility is achieved through series of hydraulics for heavy duty lifting and nanite skin for precise motorics and forming the outer shape. Most of the ASTRA’s core systems are stored in the chest and abdomen, freeing the head for most of the sensor equipment - beheading an ASTRA will only blind it, not destroy it, and as long as it can connect to the nearby surveillance systems, all you would have done is to make it look bad.
Despite being a walking supercomputer and thus having a shorter learning curve, it still takes time for an ASTRA to master certain things like martial arts, due to the fact that no amount of theory can replace experience. Furthermore, individually Alex didn’t bother learning much of what she doesn’t need, as her drive space may be impressive, but it is far from encompassing all of knowledge.
Minor shapeshifting - ASTRA’s nanoskin can change its shape, color and to some degree mechanical properties. The shape is limited by the endoskeleton, always restricting it to humanoid shape although in special cases not all of it needs to be covered by the skin, and the skin can form shapes on its own, albeit with not much strength in such limbs.
Energy absorption - ASTRA is powered through its skin which can transfer various energy sources into its powerplant - the unit is mostly powered by solar energy. The capability is limited though - for example it can still be damaged by fire given long enough exposure or high enough temperature.
Superhuman physique - Unarmored, ASTRA can lift up to 20 tons with each arm or 60 tons with both providing it can distribute the weight properly. It can also move about 3 times faster than a human and it has wider range on its joints, capable of for instance reverse bending elbows.
Superhuman mind - The robot has large memory and the computational power of the best technology. It also possesses significantly shortened reaction time and short range telepathy and technopathy with max range of 1 m for very basic readings, requiring physical contact very near the central nervous system (such as on the temples) for detailed readings facilitated through the nanites in its skin.
Sensors and transmitters - The robot is aware of more than a human, capable of seeing and hearing a wider spectrum, and can also transmit such signals.
Equipment:As the base robot is made to be able to mimic a human, something more is needed for those tough fights when the nanoskin just wouldn’t last long enough. As such a new suit of powered exo-armor was developed along with the ASTRA units. It is somewhat modular in a way that additional equipment can be mounted on the outside, but unlike the Ironman suit, it is not capable of functioning without being fully assembled or in auto-pilot. Its assembly is based on the Mk III, needing to be put on piece by piece unlike the mark V and higher Ironman suits, making the armor a strategic choice rather than tactical as there is no quick option to suit up.
Composite armor - With bulkiness not being the issue due to ASTRA’s superior mobility, the armor was made out of a composite improving upon the nickel-gold alloy. It is worth noting that it was designed to take the brunt of damage from the front and there the armor is heaviest. With the need to accept a pilot, the armor also has weak spots around the joints.
Forcefield emitters - ASTRA armor is equipped with the next step from Ironman’s repulsors - the multifield generators. It can create electric, magnetic, thermal, repulsor and graviton fields around itself. The more complex the field the more it subtracts from ASTRA’s processing power - for example, a tractor beam is pretty easy, but creating a gravity field to safely deflect a hail of bullets over large area would take enough processing power that ASTRA would have none left to compute its own motion, freezing it still.
Increased strength, reduced speed - Once the armor is on, ASTRA can lift up to 300 tons. However, the armor is is far clunkier, and limits ASTRA to human speed.
